I. Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to irrigation system equipment. Specifically the present invention is an implement to handle flexible or collapsible tubing such as two ply, flexible, polyethylene tubing. Art pertinent to the present invention is classified in U.S. Patent Class 45, subclass 176.
II. The Prior Art
Conventional irrigation systems are expensive to build and permanent in nature. Such systems include aqueducts or pipelines leading to a field. Dispersion systems are needed once the water is transported to the field. Some years these systems sit idle since they are not needed. At other times water can not reach the areas where it is needed. Furthermore, due to crop rotation certain fields set idle on alternate years. Therefore, the irrigation system serving that field is not used for those idle years. As a result, the use of convertible or temporary irrigation systems has become prevalent. Additionally, convertible and temporary systems may be used when an emergency situation arises, such as an unusual drought. One such temporary system employs flexible or collapsible tubing. Typically this tubing is a multi-ply polyethylene tubing which, when not in use, assumes a relatively flat cross section. In other words, it will completely collapse making it convenient to dispose on rolls, facilitating handling. The common name for this type of pipe or tubing is "poly-pipe."
Use of poly-pipe has increased in resent years. It is particularly attractive due to its versatility and adaptive nature. Furthermore, it is relatively inexpensive compared to complicated structures such as rigid pipelines or aqueducts. Using poly-pipe a particular area in a field can very easily be irrigated with a minimum of disturbance.
The conventional method of deploying poly-pipe involves the use of a tractor with a plow to cut a three to five inch deep furrow to receive and stabilize the poly-pipe. The pipe is unrolled out of the bed of a pickup or is similarly placed. Dirt can be piled on the tubing at intervals to help hold it in the furrow if windy conditions are present. The end of the tubing to be connected to a water source, such as a field pump, is doubled back for ten to twenty feet for reinforcement. That end is attached to the pump with duct tape or the like. As water flows through the pipe, holes may be punched along its length to irrigate specific areas. Generally speaking the end of the tube is not blocked but is left open to prevent damage to the tube or loosening of the connection to the water source.
The prior art discloses numerous devices related to laying plastic, paper, tape and other relatively flat material on the surface of the ground or underground. Various types of tapes are used in agriculture including tapes containing seeds for planting. There are numerous devices to trench and lay seed tape. Some provide a compaction roller. Among these are U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,391, issued to Kahley, Sep. 19, 1978; Zitko, U.S. Pat. No. 3,065,605; Morris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,267; and Griffin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,936.
Other patents disclose apparatuses to lay various types of film or paper for use in agriculture. Borst, U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,655, discloses a process and apparatus for laying subterranean film. This device uses a plow and has a spool deployed on it.
Pfeiffer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,078,872, discloses a machine for laying protective paper over plants. This device employs a spool to handle the paper and a framework to shape the paper as it is laid. Herfort, U.S. Pat. No. 1,787,902, discloses a mechanism for laying mulching paper. It employs a roller and small discs to disc dirt over the edges of the paper to hold it in place.
As mentioned above, the use of poly-pipe has become quite popular in recent years. The material comprising this tubing is not biodegradable. If it were biodegradable it would not be of much use in a farm field over an extended period of time. Exposure to sunlight, soil and water would cause it to breakdown.
Currently the United State Environmental Protection Agency is requiring that farmers cease disposing of poly-pipe in landfills. The poly-pipe is recyclable into a similar material and may be reused in some cases. In order to be reused the poly-pipe must not be torn or ripped. It is difficult to handle tubing once it has been placed. Conventional retrieval techniques involve gathering the poly-pipe up into the back of a pick-up truck or the like. Poly-pipe thus collected is bulky and difficult to hold in place. As the truck drives down the highway the pipe will very likely be caught by the wind and pulled out of the bed. Furthermore, leaving it in place in the farm field is not practical as it will interfere with operation of machinery and will be destroyed by those operations. As a result, it is necessary to have an implement to make retrieval of the poly-pipe convenient. To make handling or recycling of the poly-pipe practical it needs to be relatively clean and wound into a roll.
Various types of spooling devices are well known in a variety of arts. The use of spools on farming equipment is illustrated in DiPalma, U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,724. This device is a mobile spraying apparatus with a pipe carrying drum. This device also employs a series of rollers to assist in handling the pipe. Pike, U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,414, is a tractor mounted device for laying flexible cable. This device employs a trenching apparatus and various pulleys are used to guide the flexible cable into place. Sneed, U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,203, discloses a method and device for laying flexible plastic pipe. This system is similar to those used in laying flexible natural gas lines. Cha, U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,345 discloses a pipe handling apparatus for a reel pipe laying system. It uses various guideways to steer a pipe as it is being deployed.
Therefore, it is desirous to provide a piece of equipment or an implement which can handle flexible polyethylene tubing or the like. This implement would need to be able to deploy the poly-pipe by digging a shallow trench and spool the material off into the trench. Additionally, and more importantly, the implement would need to be able to pick up the poly-pipe and clean it to a degree sufficient for reuse or recycling. In order to carry out this latter task the implement would need to clear water from within the pipe and wipe or brush dirt from the exterior of the pipe. To accomplish this task the pipe could be passed back and forth over tension bars to squeeze it and be passed through cleaners such as squeegees or brushes to remove dirt from the exterior.